He was reacting to reports that his children had been attending classes at the American International School, Abuja, in defiance of government’s directive. Government had shifted the resumption of schools on the grounds that the Independent National Electoral Commission would use some public schools for the voter registration.
Goodluck Jonathan
The news of Jonathan’s alleged defiance of the directive caused an uproar, with many parents and school proprietors asking why government failed to shut the AIS.
However, the President in a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Ima Niboro, titled, ‘President Jonathan’s children not in school,’ reads, “This is to correct reports in the media that President Goodluck Jonathan’s children are currently attending school in disregard of the request by the Federal Ministry of Education and INEC that primary and secondary schools in the country should remain closed.
“This is false. The truth is that the President’s children have not resumed school this year in compliance with the Federal Ministry of Education’s directive. This fact can be easily verified.
“President Jonathan is fully conscious of his duty and obligation to give exemplary leadership to the nation and he will always live up to this great responsibility.”INEC allays fears over voter registration
Meanwhile, INEC on Wednesday said it was addressing problems arising from the ongoing voter registration.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, who spoke with THE PUNCH in Abuja, said, “Measures will translate to concrete solutions progressively. Machines are being deployed in places there is none.
“There a few places, where there are no machines. In a matter of days, machines will get to all those places. Every Nigerian that comes for the registration will be registered.”
He said that as at Monday, the commission had deployed 110,000 Direct Data Capture machines in different registration centres across the country. Idowu explained that more machines were being sent to various registration centres on a daily basis.
But investigations by our correspondents showed that the same problems were still being noticed in the exercise, five days after its commencement nationwide. In Oluyole Local Government of Oyo State, only three out of the 10 wards in the area had received DDC machines.
The council’s Chairman, Alhaji Kehinde Olaosebikan, urged INEC officials and corps members recruited for the exercise to continue working together to ensure the deployment of the machines in all the wards. The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Enugu State, Mr. Josiah Uwazuruonye, said his office had received 2,663 DDC machines, assuring that they would be adequate for the state.
In spite of Uwazuruonye’s assurances, some residents of the state could not register due to the malfunction of the machines. In Niger State, our correspondent gathered that there was a crisis in Madala area of Suleja, where reports indicated that all the machines sent to the area were burnt.
Ndike Amagu Ikwo community in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State was on Wednesday attacked by unknown gunmen, leaving four youths with wounds and another missing.
Witnesses told the News Agency of Nigeria that an armed group attacked the community while attempting to seize the DDC machines meant for the area. Three victims of the attack are receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, Abakaliki for gunshot wounds.
One of them, Alobu Benedict, is said to be in critical condition while the others are Uche Nwajo and Clement Igboji. An unnamed member of the community was said to have ordered the attack.
The spokesman of the Ebonyi State Police Command, Mr. John Eluu, confirmed the incident, adding that the police were still investigating the matter. He added that three persons had been arrested in connection with the attack.
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